chapter 2

Harry lay flat on his back, breathing hard as though he had been running. He had awoken from a vivid dream with his hands pressed over his face. The old scar on his forehead, which was shaped like a bolt of lightning, was burning beneath his fingers as though someone had just pressed a white-hot wire to his skin.

Harry also notices Key right by his side, looking worried and turns on the lap.

"Bad dream or was it more like a vision of the past?" Key asks Harry.

Harry nodded.

"Are you going to tell me what it was about, so I can understand?" Key asked Harry. "And don't say it was nothing because your sweating is not from nothing".

Harry explains his dream in great detail and is still sweating.

Key pulls Harry into a hug, wipes the sweat off, and says "Calm down, it's over, nothing will happen".

"I know, and if it does you are going to try to protect me", said Harry.

In-between this, Harry sees a large wooden trunk stood open at the foot of his bed, revealing a cauldron, broomstick, black robes, and assorted spellbooks. Rolls of parchment littered that part of his desk that was not taken up by the large, empty cage in which his snowy owl, Hedwig, usually perched. On the floor beside his bed a book lay open; Harry had been reading it before he fell asleep last night. The pictures in this book were all moving. Men in bright orange robes were zooming in and out of sight on broomsticks, throwing a red ball to one another.

"Harry, you may be trying to lighten the mood, but I know you are wondering what this means, why now, and if this will play a part in something that will happen at school because that is what usually happens", Key figured out.

"I am, I can't hide anything from you, what do you think?" Replied Harry.

"I think that something might happen because by the sound of it, Voldemort is planning something big and he has people helping him, so if this is true we must be the utmost careful; and you said you saw Wormtail, then that means that rat might come back in what way, I cannot say", said Key. "But, what I do know is we shouldn't keep this to ourselves".

"Yeah, you're right", said Harry. "Of course".

Harry walked over to the book, picked it up, and watched one of the wizards score a spectacular goal by putting the ball through a fifty-foot-high hoop. Then he snapped the book shut. Even Quidditch - in Harry's opinion, the best sport in the world - couldn't distract him at the moment. He placed Flying with the Cannons on his bedside table, crossed to the window, and drew back the curtains to survey the street below.

Privet Drive looked exactly as a respectable suburban street would be expected to look in the early hours of Saturday morning. All the curtains were closed. As far as Harry could see through the darkness, there wasn't a living creature in sight, not even a cat.

Key walked to Harry and says "I know what you are thinking and it's impossible, if that would be a possibility, we be gone, there's only us and our family here".

"You are right, isn't great, night", said Harry.

"It is, peace and quiet, and the beautiful moon is out", said Key.

"Your advice sounds like Hermione, she would tell me 'Go straight to the headmaster of Hogwarts, and in the meantime, consult a book', that sounds like her", said Harry.

"I feel flattered to be compared to the smartest girl of our year", said Key. "But, I doubt a book would help in a situation like this".

"Besides I don't know where he could even be during the summer", said Harry "And what would I even write 'Dear Professor Dumbledore, Sorry to bother you, but my scar hurt this morning. Yours sincerely, Harry Potter', that sounded more stupid out loud than in my head".

Harry also imagined imagine his other best friend, Ron Weasley's, reaction, and in a moment, Ron's red hair and long-nosed, freckled face seemed to swim before Harry, wearing a bemused expression.

"Your scar hurt? But. . . but You-Know-Who can't be near you now, can he? I mean. . . you'd know, wouldn't you? He'd be trying to do you in again, wouldn't be? I dunno, Harry, maybe curse scars always twinge a bit. . . I'll ask Dad. . . "

Mr. Weasley was a fully qualified wizard who worked in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office at the Ministry of Magic, but he didn't have any particular expertise in the matter of curses, as far as Harry knew. In any case, Harry didn't like the idea of the whole Weasley family knowing that he, Harry, was getting jumpy about a few moments' pain. Mrs. Weasley would fuss worse than Hermione, and Fred and George, Ron's sixteen year old twin brothers, might think Harry was losing his nerve. The Weasleys were Harry's favorite family in the world; he was hoping that they might invite him to stay any time now (Ron had mentioned something about the Quidditch World Cup), and he somehow didn't want his visit punctuated with anxious inquiries about his scar.

"Deep thoughts", said Key.

"Key, have you sent a message to your parents yet?" Harry asks Key.

Key giggles and says "Don't change the subject".

"Let's just let it go, and talk about how you feel about finally having a way to communicate with your parents, the people that you have been looking for years", said Harry.

"Harry, the person you need to send the letter is way too obvious, after all I'm not the only one finding something or someone special", said Key.

Harry realized Key meant Sirius which he feels now should've been obvious.

Harry pulled a piece of parchment toward him, loaded his eagle-feather quill with ink, wrote 'Dear Sirius', then paused, wondering how best to phrase his problem, still marveling at the fact that he hadn't thought of Sirius straight away. But then, perhaps it wasn't so surprising - after all, he had only found out that Sirius was his godfather two months ago around the same time Key reunited with her parents.

Key looks at a letter she got sent back: "Dear Key, we are doing good, found a lovely place to stay, we are so glad to hear from you. I know that we have been gone for some many years, so if you would be comfortable, why don't you join us for the summer?"

"Are you going to go or accept their letter, you have been looking at that for one week, you should accept it", said Harry.

"But, I don't want to leave you", said Key.

"It's only one summer, I can survive one summer without you besides I won't be alone, these are your family that are in hiding and they are inviting you", said Harry.

"Kinda like your godfather and I know you would want to see, so fine, but I am not seeing them all summer, I don't want to miss the opportunity to see my friends during the summer", said Key.

"Fair enough, but you need to tell them that in the letter, so they won't be upset", said Harry.

"Okay, I will accept the letter, after all I didn't search for them after all these years for nothing", said Key.

"Good job", said Harry. "I wish I could join you".

"You could do it for a second or a minute", said Key.

"You really don't want to be separated, do you?" replied Harry.

"I was thinking you could see my parents under a less dangerous circumstance", said Key, looking insulted.

"Sorry", said Harry, then hugs Key.

Key grabs a parchment and a quill, then starts writing her letter.

Dear Mom and Dad.

I read your last letter and I want to accept your offer, just tell me where we can be able to meet, since I am underage so I can't just teleport to your location.

I won't be staying with you all summer, I don't want to miss having summer fun with my friends, but I hope that we can spend a good amount of time together and we can feel like a family.

I love you, Key.

Key folded the parchment and puts it into an envelope.

Key gives her letter to Olivia.

At the next moment, the sun was rising, when the bedroom walls had turned gold, and when sounds of movement could be heard from Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia's room, Harry cleared his desk of crumpled pieces of parchment and reread his finished letter.

Dear Sirius,

Thanks for your last letter. That bird was enormous; it could hardly get through my window. Things are the same as usual here. Dudley's diet isn't going too well. My aunt found him smuggling doughnuts into his room yesterday. They told him they'd have to cut his pocket money if he keeps doing it, so he got really angry and chucked his PlayStation out of the window. That's a sort of computer thing you can play games on. Bit stupid really, now he hasn't even got Mega-Mutilation Part Three to take his mind off things.

I'm okay, mainly because the Dursleys are terrified you might turn up and turn them all into bats if I ask you to.

A weird thing happened this morning, though. My scar hurt again. Last time that happened it was because Voldemort was at Hogwarts. But I don't reckon he can be anywhere near me now, can he? Do you know if curse scars sometimes hurt years afterward?

I'll send this with Hedwig when she gets back; she's off hunting at the moment. Say hello to Buckbeak for me.

Harry

Yes, thought Harry, that looked all right. There was no point putting in the dream; he didn't want it to look as though he was too worried. He folded up the parchment and laid it aside on his desk, ready for when Hedwig returned. Then he got to his feet, stretched, and opened his wardrobe once more.

Key and Harry get dressed and headed downstairs.